Menominee County posts Wisconsin's fastest job growth at 4.7%

Menominee County posted Wisconsin’s fastest employment growth for the year ending in the second quarter of 2025, up 4.7%, even as statewide employment was flat. The county’s gain outpaced Oneida County’s 3.9% increase and Chippewa County’s 3.0% rise, putting Menominee at the top of a state ranking that also showed steep losses in Rusk County, Iron County and Buffalo County.

The Department of Revenue’s employment figures are drawn from a census of unemployment insurance records, not estimates, and the counts are not revised. That gives Menominee County’s numbers unusual weight for a small county where changes in a handful of workplaces can move the whole labor market.

The county’s workforce is also unlike Wisconsin’s metro-heavy economy. Education and health services account for 39% of employment in Menominee County, the highest share in the state, according to the county workforce profile. Keshena is the county’s most populous municipality, which makes hiring in schools, clinics and related services especially important for day-to-day life in and around the county seat area.

Menominee County’s economic story is tied closely to tribal and county institutions. The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin says its history in the region goes back 10,000 years, its land base was reduced to a little more than 235,000 acres through a series of 19th-century treaties, and federal recognition was restored in 1973. County government says the county covers about 360 square miles and includes roughly 223,500 acres of heavily forested land, including the largest single tract of virgin timberland in Wisconsin.

That land base matters because growth here is never just about payroll totals. In March 2025, the county board adopted updated shoreland protection and zoning changes, a reminder that development pressure, forest stewardship and housing decisions remain tightly linked. In a county shaped by forestry, tribal operations and public-sector work, those choices can affect whether jobs spread beyond a few employers or stay concentrated in the same sectors.

The broader state picture makes Menominee’s result stand out even more. Brown County added the most jobs numerically, with 2,967, followed by Dane County, Waukesha County and Kenosha County. Menominee’s gain was smaller in raw numbers, but its 4.7% growth rate was the strongest in Wisconsin and a sharp contrast to the flat statewide average. Whether that becomes a durable pattern will depend on whether hiring holds across the county’s core institutions and whether new work translates into steadier opportunities for residents across Keshena and the rest of Menominee County.